Tackling Poverty in Northern Ghana

World Bank

Tackling Poverty in Northern Ghana

Autores

World Bank

Editor

World Bank

Descripción

Twenty years of rapid economic development in Ghana has done little, if anything, to reduce the historical North, South divide in standards of living. While rural development and urbanization have led to significant poverty reduction in the South, similar dynamics have been largely absent from Northern Ghana (or equivalently the North, defined as the sum of the administrative regions Upper West, Upper East, and the Northern region), which cover 40 percent of Ghana's land area. Between 1992 and 2006, the number of the poor declined by 2.5 million in the South and increased by 0.9 million in the North. In sharp contrast with the South, there was no significant decline in the proportion of poor in the population of the North. Ghana's success story in poverty reduction is the success story of its South. Finally, North-South migration should not be seen as detracting from the potential development of Northern Ghana. North-South migration is potentially a strong instrument for poverty alleviation. With the right human capital, many individuals could escape from poverty through migration to the dynamic South. This phenomenon however, remains marginal today. By the same token, greater North-South migration will most likely be a consequence of any development in Northern Ghana, at least for some decades. Indeed, with greater economic integration and better public service provision, the probability that residents of Northern Ghana will benefit from migration will tremendously increase, thus their incentive to migrate. Hence, one should not expect lower migration pressures from the development of Northern Ghana in the short run. On the contrary, attention should be paid to the quality of migration, which will entail strengthening social protection mechanisms to reduce negative migration, and raising human capital while increasing the absorptive capacities of cities to encourage positive migration. This migration to the South will further benefit the North, since migrants will add to the pool of remittances sent to Northern Ghana.

Palabras clave

ACCESS TO EDUCATION, ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY, ACCESS TO INFRASTRUCTURE, ADMINISTRATIVE REGIONS, AGED, AGRICULTURAL LAND, AGRICULTURAL SEASON, AGRICULTURAL SECTOR, AGRICULTURAL SECTORS, AGRICULTURAL YIELDS, ANNUAL CHANGE, ANNUAL GROWTH, ANNUAL GROWTH RATE, AVERAGE INCOME, CALORIC INTAKE, CALORIES PER DAY, CAPITATION GRANTS, CHILD NUTRITION, CLIMATE CHANGE, CLINICS, COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE, CONFLICT, CONSUMPTION GROWTH, CONTROL OF LAND, CORRELATES OF POVERTY, COST-EFFECTIVENESS, DEPENDENT VARIABLE, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPING COUNTRY, DEVELOPMENT GOALS, DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS, DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY, DIMENSIONS OF POVERTY, DISAGGREGATED LEVEL, DISPARITIES BETWEEN REGIONS, DIVERSIFICATION, ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, ECONOMIC POLICY, ECONOMICS, EDUCATION LEVEL, EDUCATION PROGRAMS, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM, EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS, EMPLOYMENT STATUS, ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE, ESTIMATES OF POVERTY, ESTIMATION TECHNIQUES, EXCHANGE RATE, EXPLANATORY VARIABLES, FARM OUTPUT, FARMERS, FEMALE EDUCATION, FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS, FOOD CONSUMPTION, FOOD CROPS, FOOD ITEMS, FOOD POLICY, FOOD POVERTY, FOOD POVERTY LINE, FOOD REQUIREMENTS, FORMS OF POVERTY, GINI COEFFICIENT, GLOBAL MARKETS, GROWTH ELASTICITY, GROWTH PROCESS, GROWTH RATES, HEADCOUNT RATIO, HEALTH INSURANCE, HEALTH OUTCOMES, HEALTH PROGRAMS, HIGH CONCENTRATION, HIGH GROWTH, HIGHER INEQUALITY, HOSPITALS, HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION, HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION, HOUSEHOLD HEAD, HOUSEHOLD HEADS, HOUSEHOLD SIZE, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, HOUSING, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN CAPITAL ENDOWMENTS, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, IMPACT ON POVERTY, INCIDENCE ANALYSIS, INCOME, INCOME GROWTH, INCOME POVERTY, INCOME QUINTILE, INEQUALITY, INEQUALITY CHANGES, INTERNATIONAL POVERTY LINE, INTERVENTION, INVESTMENT CLIMATE, IRRIGATION, KINSHIP SYSTEMS, LABOR FORCE, LABOR MARKET, LAGGING REGIONS, LAND OWNERSHIP, LIVELIHOOD OPPORTUNITIES, LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES, LIVING STANDARDS, LOW INEQUALITY, LOW POVERTY RATE, MALNUTRITION, MEAN INCOMES, MIGRANTS, MIGRATION, MORTALITY, NATIONAL POVERTY, NATIONAL POVERTY LINE, NATURAL DISASTERS, NON-POOR HOUSEHOLDS, NUTRITION, PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION, PER CAPITA INCOME, POLICY ISSUES, POLICY RESEARCH, POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS, POOR, POOR HOUSEHOLDS, POOR PEOPLE, POOR POPULATION, POPULATION SHARE, POST-HARVEST HANDLING, POVERTY ALLEVIATION, POVERTY ALLEVIATION STRATEGY, POVERTY DATA, POVERTY DYNAMICS, POVERTY ESTIMATES, POVERTY GAP, POVERTY INCREASE, POVERTY INDICATORS, POVERTY INDICES, POVERTY LEVEL, POVERTY LINE, POVERTY LINES, POVERTY MAP, POVERTY MAPS, POVERTY OUTCOMES, POVERTY RATE, POVERTY RATES, POVERTY REDUCTION, POVERTY TRAPS, PREGNANCY, PRIMARY EDUCATION, PRIMARY SCHOOLS, PRO-POOR, PUBLIC FUNDS, PUBLIC HEALTH, PUBLIC POLICY, PUBLIC SECTOR, PUBLIC SERVICE, PUBLIC WORKS, PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAMS, REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY, REGIONAL COST, REGIONAL COST OF LIVING, REGIONAL DISPARITIES, REGIONAL INEQUALITIES, REGIONAL LEVEL, RELATIVE PRICES, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, RURAL, RURAL AREAS, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, RURAL ELECTRIFICATION, RURAL PHENOMENON, RURAL POOR, RURAL POVERTY, RURAL POVERTY ALLEVIATION, RURAL ROADS, SAFETY NET, SANITATION, SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, SCHOOL FEEDING, SELF-EMPLOYMENT, SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION, SIGNIFICANT IMPACT, SMALLHOLDER FARMING, SOCIAL CAPITAL, SOCIAL NETWORKS, SOCIAL PROGRAMS, SOCIAL PROTECTION, SPATIAL APPROACH, SPATIAL DIFFERENCES, SPATIAL FOCUS, SPATIAL INEQUALITIES, SQUARED POVERTY GAP, STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT, STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION, SUBSISTENCE, TARGETING, TARGETING MECHANISMS, URBAN AREAS, URBAN POVERTY, VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT, WATER SOURCES, WELFARE IMPROVEMENTS, WELFARE INDICATOR, WELFARE INDICATORS, WORKERS